By Celestine Avi and Seth Eyiah
President John Dramani Mahama says the government’s Free Primary Healthcare programme will strengthen maternal healthcare and help reduce maternal mortality through improved antenatal monitoring.
Addressing the Resetting Ghana Citizens’ Engagement in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region as part of his two-day Resetting Ghana tour, President Mahama said the programme would provide free healthcare at CHPS compounds, health centres and polyclinics, while bringing preventive healthcare closer to households.
He said healthcare workers would visit homes to monitor pregnant women and ensure they attend their required antenatal appointments.
President Mahama announced plans to introduce an antenatal book to help health workers track pregnant women’s visits and indicate when their next appointments are due.
“A lot of women who die during childbirth, when investigated, are found not to have followed the antenatal care system,” he said, stressing the need for regular monitoring of complications such as high blood pressure during pregnancy.
He said the initiative would also provide opportunities for routine medical screening, including checks for blood pressure and blood sugar, as part of efforts to promote preventive healthcare and improve the health of Ghanaians.
